Obama: "The Affordable Care Act Is Here to Stay"

On Tuesday afternoon, President Barack Obama announced in a speech at the White House that more Americans than predicted had signed up for health coverage through the insurance exchanges during the first six months of enrollment. "7.1 million Americans have now signed up for private insurance plans through these marketplaces," the president said. "Seven point one. Yep." And Obama slammed Republicans who haven't let up trying to gut the law. "This law is doing what it's supposed to do," he said. "It's helping people from coast to coast, all of which makes the lengths to which critics have gone to scare people or undermine the law or try to repeal the law without offering any plausible alternative so hard to understand.... The debate over repealing this law is over," Obama added. "The Affordable Care Act is here to stay." Watch:

Erika Eichelberger is a reporter in Mother Jones' Washington bureau. She has also written for The Nation, The Brooklyn Rail, and TomDispatch. Email her at eeichelberger [at] motherjones [dot] com. RSS | Twitter